Finding light within the darkness
by TUKZ07
Summary: Funny how the condemned and dammed are usually the ones that end up changing the course of history. for better or worse though?... only time will tell.


A/N: to all those that were reading my first attempt to write a story: Fire, Ice and a Hyuuga. My laptop crashed and is completely and utterly useless, so all my hard work had gone up in smoke. So this new story may have some elements of the old story but hopefully it will be awesome to read none the less.

This story will be very graphic and dark in certain parts and incorporate many ideas or characters from elsewhere in many different ways, I just hope everyone likes it. Please do not hesitate to inform me of your opinions on this story or on ways of improving it, because it would be much appreciated.

Lastly I do not own Naruto or any other characters/concepts from any other Anime or Manga, except the OC's and jutsu that I create. Which quite frankly sucks! lol

"speaking"

 _'thoughts'_

"Demon speech"

 _'demon thought'_

Chapter 1 – Meet and Greet

(Konoha Hospital)

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage and current ruler of Konohagakure no Sato, is a man who admits that he has made his fair share of bad decisions throughout his tenure as Hokage. Even now, a handful of them to still weigh heavily on the old man's soul. But, what has allowed him to get through each day is knowing that all his decisions were made with the best intentions for the benefit of his people.

We all know what paved the road to hell now, don't we?

The elderly Hokage currently sat in a small cornered off section of the hospital that is filled with heavily guarded rooms, reserved only for those in the ANBU or the witness protection program, worryingly watching over a blonde haired orphan named Naruto Uzumaki. The boy was no older than 7 years old and someone who the Hokage considered as his own surrogate grandson.

Naruto lay covered in bandages. His body badly beaten and broken with tubes from various machines sticking out everywhere. All the aged Hokage could do was hang his head in shame as he kept his focus on the blonde child. He had failed him, _again._

Time seem to slowly pass while the Hokage sat deep in contemplation. His 'will of fire' had taken a tremendous hit over the last couple of days. So much so that while the Hokage mentally tried to piece together all the information he had received as per the events over the last three days, neither he nor some of his best ANBU guards, even noticed another presence entering the room.

Three days earlier

It was safe to say that the Sandaime Hokage, was not having the greatest of days and having just finished a meeting with the civilian council really put the icing on the proverbial cake. The meeting, had essentially boiled down to how the councillors could further rip-off the greater populace of Konoha. The last straw for the Hokage was when one councillor suggested that it could be done under the guise of 'tax hikes'.

In all honesty, this kind of behaviour absolutely disgusted the Sandaime, to the point where he had even contemplated assassinating every last councillor with this view. However, in the Hokage's old age, all he really wanted to do was to go back in time to when he was retired, living out his days peacefully with his wife as the pair carelessly enjoyed some of life's simple pleasures together.

But the day the nine tailed fox attacked changed all that.

The fox took with it not only the Sandaime's dreams of that peaceful retirement with his wife but also his successor, the Yondaime Hokage, A good portion of Konoha's population as well as the majority of the survivor's sanity and common sense.

The more the Sandaime actually thought about that day, the more confused and depressed it made him feel. Trying to block those thoughts out with an audible sigh, Sarutobi continued the already slow trip back to his office to hopefully, finish off his seemingly endless supply of paper work.

As luck would have it, as soon as the Hokage sat in his chair, a pair of some of his most trusted ANBU appeared kneeling before him. "Hokage-sama" they spoke in unison. The Sandaime acknowledged the pair with a slight nod before signalling one of them to continue.

"Hokage-sama we came to inform you of what progress has been made into the disappearance of Naruto Uzumaki..."

The sudden release of the Sandaime's killing intent caused the air temperature within the room to drop dramatically. Coupled with the constricting nature of said killing intent, the masked agent stopped his report as both ANBU were now struggling to breathe. If anyone was stupid enough to look directly at the Hokage right now, the look held within his gaze would show that this was no longer the kind and gentle old man that the citizens of Konoha were used to seeing. No, this was the look of a hardened veteran, a veteran of two of the great shinobi wars and countless smaller battles. One who prided himself on been one of the most calculating and precise tacticians of his generation. This was the look of a man renowned throughout the Elemental Nations as the 'Kami no Shinobi'

"Report..." The Hokage snapped coldly, causing the crow masked ANBU to involuntarily flinch under his mask before looking at their Hokage and replying.

"Our comrades continue searching as we speak Hokage-sama. According to new information gathered so far, we believe Naruto Uzumaki is been held captive somewhere within the western quarter of district 10."

The Hokage eyes narrowed even more slightly as he growled while his rage began to build with each passing second. "What of the ANBU detailed with watching Naruto during the speculated time of the abduction?"

"They and many others we believe that are somehow involved are currently sitting in the holding cells of the T&I department. Ibiki awaits your orders Hokage-sama." was the quick reply.

Silence reigned over the room for several seconds as Sarutobi frustratingly tried to calm himself enough to contemplate his next move.

"I will personally notify Ibiki that he, Inoichi and Anko will be conducting _black leaf_ level interrogations that are to begin immediately...I will also stress to them that time is of the essence, so the execution of their respective skills has to be of the utmost importance."

The two ANBU had to repress the urge to shudder again under the Sandaime's gaze. Bboth knew that the 'black leaf' meant the interrogators had been given free rein to do whatever they felt was necessary. Considering who was conducting these interrogations, you could guarantee all those currently held in the T&I department in one way or another, were going to die a very painful and horrible death... Once they had spilled everything that could possibly be of any use of course. The Sandaime on the other hand just ignored the actions of his ANBU and continue with what he had to say.

"Karasu. Bring me Danzo Shimura immediately. Ryu, return to your team and continue your search I will also assign Mushi to join you along with Karasu once I am finished with Danzo. Both will meet you in 15 minutes at the entrance to district 10. Now go."

Several minutes, four puffs of smoke and swirling leaves later, the heavily bandaged elder known as Danzo Shimura slowly entered the Hokage's office. The two powerful men stared intensely at each other. Each gauging the other silently for any sort of early psychological advantage. Both men knew, the other was never to be underestimated under any circumstance. After all, shinobi do not reach their age without been exceptionally good at what they do and these two men were definitely no exception.

"Danzo" The Sandaime stated evenly.

"Hiruzen" Danzo returned the greeting just as evenly.

After a few seconds Sarutobi's outward demeanour turned cold and calculating while leaning forward on to his desk maintaining that same steeled look in his eye. "Well?" he said softly

Danzo didn't so much as flinch under the Sandaime's gaze as he slowly removed a small folder from within his kimono and placed it on the large wooden desk between the two men. Sarutobi quickly snatched at the folder and began skimming over the documents and photos within, causing Sarutobi's facial expression to harden as each second passed.

Danzo couldn't help but let a ghost of a smirk grace his lips when he looked up at his village's current leader. He knew that look… very well.

' _So, the great tree and its roots will soon feed on the blood of her enemies once more.'_

Then, Danzo motioned for the room to be sealed off before he began to speak.

"The abduction was an inside job and its ringleader is named Satoshi Matsu. A successful fire country merchant who trades in fine silks and other pricey merchandise. Due to his business success and supposed work within the community, he was recently offered a seat on the civilian council. What isn't common knowledge however, is his other business ventures. Including the manufacturing and distribution of various narcotics (specialising in opiates). He is also a suspected paedophile who has ties to a human trafficking ring here in Hi no Kuni and also another based in Mizu no Kuni, that specialises in the export of child sex slaves into various foreign black markets."

Sarutobi's mind soon began working overtime on how he was going to get Naruto back without causing an uproar amongst the populace but seeing the slightest of muscle twitches on Danzo's face, the Hokage knew the bandaged old man was hiding something.

"An unforeseen variant has also been added to the equation Hiruzen..." Danzo began evenly.

When Danzo began to talk like that, Sarutobi knew he was definitely not going to like what he was going to hear and today was no exception.

"Satoshi Matsu is aiming to hire the 'Onryou no Uzu'..."

On the outside, the Sandaime Hokage didn't react at all. On the inside though, his mind was in complete chaos running through as many different scenarios as his mind could handle. After a few minutes of dead silence, the Sandaime finally managed to growl out a response "How accurate and reliable is your source Danzo?"

"Very. The more pressing matter should be, how you would like this handled? if you want it done cleanly, obviously it will take longer than it needs to be." Danzo stated evenly.

Turning away from the old war hawk in another attempt to calm himself before he gave himself a heart attack or aneurysm, the Hokage gazed out the window and into the busy streets of Konoha. His focus landing squarely on the Hokage monument.

"All right...You already know that if this is going to work then we must strike before the arrival of the Onryou. I will trust you to make the right judgement calls Danzo. On completion of this extraction, Naruto WILL be brought back to me, understood. Any other children found will be your responsibility, make sure they are returned to their families if possible"

"Hai, Hokage-sama" Danzo bowed slightly, hiding the man's emotionless features from the Hokage's view. However, before he disappeared in a swirl of leaves, Sarutobi made one final suggestion.

"Danzo...Show them why you are called the Yami no Shinobi."

(Same time as the Sandaime's meeting with the ANBU, Western Quarter of District 10)

It had been nearly a month since the abduction took place and Satoshi Matsu had finally decided keeping Naruto captive was becoming far too risky. He knew the Hokage would have heard by now that some of the villagers (who paid very good money by the way) began bragging about how they 'put the demon in its place' and what not. Satoshi also knew that it was no secret how deeply that old Hokage cared for Naruto. So the disposal of any evidence that happened to link Satoshi to the boy's disappearance, was currently a much needed necessity.

It was then organised for a missing nin to transport the bloody, malnourished and now bound Naruto Uzumaki to an area located within one of the larger islands of Mizu no kuni, known as the Tenma forest. Satoshi had hoped from what he had heard, that the shinobi his secretary had set up a meeting with was professional enough to carry out this task as quickly and quietly as possible. Satoshi's initial concerns were soon put to rest when the missing nin entered the room, Satoshi recognised him as the one called 'Onryou no Uzu' (the ghost of Uzu).

Onryou stood just over 6-foot-tall and had a solid but very athletic looking build. A hood covered the majority of his face, except the emotionless blank eyes and the scratched dull yellow steel mask that protruded out from the bottom of the hood as smoke slowly seeping from it. The hood connected to a bloody and dirty sleeveless yellow and black amour plated vest with small steel shoulder pads that were covered by leather straps. Heavy duty leather bracer's covered his scared arms from elbow to wrist and were big enough to conceal blades and other weapons within. One dirt covered and heavily calloused hand firmly gripped a scroll that was been tucked away in his back pocket while the other freely rested at his side, yet, both were ready for action at a moment's notice. Around his waist was a wide leather belt which held a couple of ninja pouches and also covered a good portion of his mid-section. He wore ANBU style black pants that were tuck into combat boots that had steel shin-guards built into the face of them all the way down to the toes. Strapped diagonally across his back were two ninjato.

Onryou listened to Satoshi explain where he wanted his 'cargo' taken. Onryou, like most other shinobi and civilians knew the legends of the Tenma forest and its reputation. It supposedly made Konoha's forest of death look like a small child's playhouse. The most common stories that seemed to surface about the Tenma forest were of people disappearing only to be found later, mutilated beyond recognition. Claims of demonic possessions or people driven insane after venturing into the deeper parts of the forest, having visions of things that could only be described as 'unnatural'. Yet the most disturbing rumour, was that all of this was the work of the souls of the innocent that had been grossly mistreated or discarded by society, only to be taken in by the Tengu or the other demons that supposedly inhabit the forest.

According to Satoshi, it was a fitting final resting place for Konoha's supposed demon spawn and any others he couldn't make a profit off.

Onryou on the other hand, didn't necessarily believe in the stories about the island but he had lived far too long to know that rumours often held some slither of truth to them. Especially in the world he operated in.

After a few seconds more of listening to Satoshi ramble on, Onryou understood perfectly what this man was silently asking of him as one of Satoshi's guards placed a very large sum of ryo on the desk before him. Onryou didn't move a single muscle, remaining perfectly still which caused Satoshi to eye the man carefully. Time seemed to slow down to a standstill before Satoshi slowly pulled a small bag of various precious stones out from his pocket and tossed the bag towards Onryou, obviously thinking the missing-nin wanted more money. "Make it as painful as possible" Satoshi stated calmly.

While disposing of the payment into a small storage scroll, the 'cargo' that Onryou would be transporting was brought into the room.

Onryou looked on with indifference as he took in the boy's beaten and bloody appearance after he was carelessly dumped on the floor. Onryou knew he didn't have to think very hard to know what had been done to the child, judging by the large amount of visible bruising or even his pain ridden movements. Yet the longer he looked at the horribly abused child, for reasons unknown to him, Onryou felt a strange connection to the blonde haired boy as if he had seen him somewhere before.

Satoshi on the other hand, couldn't keep the grin off his face as he watched the blonde boy wither around the floor of his office in the most unbearable pain. Of course taking the opportunity to gloat in his misery, Satoshi made a couple of lasting snide remarks about the boy's time with him and thus accidentally revealing his name to the hooded shinobi, who's only visible reaction was to slowly close his eyes as he processed this new found revelation. Internally though, Onryou's mind instantly became a violent storm of dark emotions as his rage and anger quickly began to consume him while one name repeatedly ran through his mind.

 _'Uzumaki-Sama'_

(Flashback)

Kneeling before the stone statue within the Shinigami's shrine was the current Uzumaki clan head and jinchuriki of the nine tailed fox, Kushina Uzumaki. Her long red hair limply covered her face as her head bowed slightly and her eyes firmly clamped shut. Hands fidgeting with the black prayer beads that were loosely wrapped around her left hand as she mumbled incoherent prays of protection for her family. For one so widely renowned for her skills as a shinobi, the feeling of constant uneasiness and dread that had been plaguing her the last couple of weeks was now starting to terrify her.

Kushina's eyes suddenly sprung open in panic when she felt a sudden increase of heat, only to see Onryou, materialize from the shadows of the Shinigami statue in a small burst of flames. Onryou's blank and lifeless gaze held Kushina's own for a second or two before the shinobi stated in his normally dark and almost distorted tone of voice.

"You summoned me, Uzumaki-Sama"

Kushina gave a subtle nod while unconsciously moving both hands over her pregnant belly in a protective manner, making her body begin to relax a little. ' _I'm sorry Minato-kun but I will take my own precautions as well..._ ', she thought before she gestured for Onryou to sit beside her, yet the shinobi chose to remain standing where he was.

Kushina's gaze soon returned towards the statue of the Shinigami and her eyes began tearing up at the thought of what the future had planned for her baby should anything happen to her and her husband, Minato.

"For years, I have always felt ashamed for not been able to remove the darkness of this world from your heart, even by bringing you out into the light, where you belong. Especially when you have served the Uzumaki clan so proudly and diligently. Your loyalty has never ever been brought into question and for that I will always be eternally grateful." Kushina stated in a quiet and even tone causing the shinobi to bow ever so slightly as she continued what she was going to say.

"I believe it is time I showed you the true amount of faith that I actually have in you. I would be honoured if you would become the guardian of this child should anything happen to myself and Minato..."

Kushina paused to see if she could gage a reaction from the shinobi before continuing on again.

"Should anything happen; I fear that that old pervert Jiraiya would neglect his duties towards our son out of grief... And I don't really know anyone else more capable of training and protecting an Uzumaki child than you."

A small smile soon crept onto her face as she continued.

"Look at it this way, you will be still doing your duty of protecting the Uzumaki line but I truly hope this will inspire you to start a family of your own one day." Kushina said rather matter of factly. Allowing her tears to freely flow down her cheeks as her unstable nerves took over.

At first, Onryou did not move a muscle throughout Kushina's statements. Flashbacks began running through his mind, recalling all he had done throughout his years of service in the name of the Uzumaki. Everything from assassinations to keeping tabs on the various survivors from the fall of Uzushiogakure. The shinobi known as the 'Onryou no Uzu' had done it all and yet for the briefest of moments he felt something he hadn't felt in a very long time, Guilt.

Slowly making his way over towards Kushina and kneeling before her. The shinobi placed a small scroll at her side and whispered something that caused Kushina to shiver before he disappeared in a burst of flames.

"Monsters are better left in the dark, Uzumaki-sama."

The sadness was evident on Kushina's face as she took the scroll and sealed it into the sleeve of her robe. Resuming her prayers with tears streaming down her face, one additional thought appeared in her mind.

 _'I hope you one day find the peace that you are looking for…My friend.'_

(Flashback End)

Onryou opened his eyes, the sheer intensity of his killing intent caused the atmosphere of the room instantly became deathly silent. A quick scan of the office on his arrival told Onryou that there was a total of 9 guards positioned at various points of the room, 5 stood in plain sight while the other 4 remained supposedly hidden. Unfortunately for all of them, death was automatically guaranteed as Onryou's limbs burst into flames while slowly raising his arms, causing an immediate reaction around the room.

Terrifying pain filled screams from each of Satoshi's guards filled the room as they suddenly found themselves burning alive while been dragged down into separate pools of magma by numerous skeletal corpses. Once the last guard had disappeared, a few seconds passed before the smouldering and still twitching bodies of the guards were systematically spat back out on to the floor. Onryou just focused his attention squarely on the supposed ringleader of this whole operation.

The stench of burning flesh was much too overpowering for Satoshi, who was absolutely petrified with fear by what he had just witnessed, which was showcased by literally pissing himself as he sat in his chair. He would soon come to realize that after locking eyes with his former potential employee, that their deaths would be nothing (in terms of cruelty) compared to his own.

Instantly, Satoshi could swear that he felt as if he was slowly burning alive while his chest was being crushed within a spiked vice because of Onryou's killing intent being focused squarely on him. Having that kind of fear forced upon him also meant that Satoshi didn't notice the chained kunai that slid into Onryou's right hand or how the room had somehow darkened considerably before the enraged shinobi launched the kunai directly at Satoshi. Finalizing his decision to show the fat paedophile exactly why he is called the 'Onryou no Uzu' with one short sentence.

"Get Over Here..."

(Hokage Tower, Couple hours Later)

Sarutobi leaned back into his chair as he was just about to take a sip of his herbal tea to try calm his nerves while he waited on news from both Danzo and the squad of ANBU that were told to follow him.

A large burst of flames soon erupted in front of his desk causing the room to descend into semi organised chaos. All the ANBU stationed within the Hokage's chambers moved to surround the now smoke filled area with their weapons drawn while Sarutobi discreetly grabbed a kunai from underneath his desk and everyone readied themselves for whatever was about to take place.

When the smoke from the flames finally cleared, many of the shinobi in the room unconsciously tightened their grips on their weapons at the sight of a very bloody Onryou standing before them. Holding the severed head of Satoshi Matsu within one outstretched hand.

"Your filth." Onryou stated icily, allowing all within the office, a clear view of the charred head before carelessly dropping it on the floor.

Sarutobi eyed the man cautiously, contemplating how he should approach this known intruder while secretly trying to hide the satisfaction he was feeling when it registered that the head belongs to the man who had abducted his surrogate grandson.

Slightly adjusting his tightening grip on the concealed kunai under his desk, Hiruzen decided he would begin testing the waters to see if he was able to get any sort of information out of this man.

"I would have liked to have seen what additional information he may have been able to provide us before you killed him. Especially considering any usable evidence to back up the accusations made against Satoshi Matsu were rather hard to obtain... Now tell me, what is the 'Ghost of Uzu' doing in my village? And where is Naruto Uzumaki?" The Sandaime asked with stern authority while flexing his killing intent.

All eyes stared intensely at the intruder now known to everyone else as the 'Ghost of Uzu'.

Completely ignoring the killing intent, Onryou focused his gaze directly back on the Sandaime. When their eyes met, it took all the Sandaime had to fight the urge to flinch like a child under such an intense stare. Hiruzen had heard the stories and had even briefly seen what this man was capable of when provoked, so with all the rage and contempt those blank eyes currently held, even for the man known throughout the elemental nations as the god of shinobi, Hiruzen knew he had to tread very carefully at this point in time.

(Flashback)

"So Jiraiya-Sensei and I have gone through and triple checked the necessary seals for the location of Kushina-chan's Pregnancy. Tsunade Senju and Biwako Sarutobi will be dealing with the delivery, during which time I will make sure the fox stays where it is supposed to. Sandaime-sama will lead a hand-picked team of ANBU that will include Kakashi Hatake, to be an added security measure and make sure nothing goes wrong... Now have I missed anything?"

The Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze pondered out loud to the said group of shinobi sitting in front of him as he laid back into the large recliner chair within his office. His eyes soon narrowed in mock anger/frustration when he saw Jiraiya raise his hand.

"Sensei, we have been over why you can't be at the birth. You are a self-proclaimed per... I mean super pervert, and I don't want any distractions taking place due to you getting any unwanted glimpses or certain ideas. Besides I need someone I completely trust looking after the village while we are gone." Minato said with a small smile on his face

Seeing Jiraiya's downtrodden expression, Minato knew the man wanted to be there for the birth of his godson but Kushina or any of the other woman involved would never allow it due to his... tendencies. In an attempt to cheer up his teacher and father figure, Minato added a little sentence that he would later find out, not even Kami-sama herself would save him from the repercussions of his wife.

"I may just teach you how to activate that crystal ball before you leave sensei."

This statement cause two immediate reactions. One: A huge lecherous grin appeared on Jiraiya's face. Two: Tsunade Senju calmly rising from her chair and punching the said pervert squarely in the jaw. Even without chakra, the punch surely shattered said jaw upon contact, and knocked out more than a few teeth and any remaining brain cells the toad summoner had left as he splattered against the office wall. The rest of women in the room released a fair amount of killing intent as they glared at their village's leader. In particular, a certain heavily pregnant red head. The men in the room each whispered silent prayers as they bowed their heads in complete embarrassment for their soon to be dead leader.

After taking several moments to compose herself, Kushina decided it was now or never. "Onryou." She whispered.

The moment said shinobi appeared in the room, he was instantly surrounded by the ANBU, putting everyone instantly on edge. The shinobi in question took no notice of them, focusing his attention on the only red head in the room. "You summoned me, Uzumaki-sama"

"Yes my friend. I wanted to know if you had made a decision yet?" Kushina asked with a small smile on her face.

Onryou simply nodded in response making Kushina's smile even bigger while leaving all the other Konoha shinobi within the room immensely confused. However, before Kushina could explain anything about what just took place, a sudden shout startled everyone as Biwako Sarutobi attempted to attack the hooded shinobi. Armed with a kunai hidden on her person.

Within seconds of dodging the initial attack, Onryou had taken the woman's offending arm while using her own momentum against her and twisting it behind her back, locking the arm up into two different unnatural looking angles. Then kicking her legs out from under her, allowed Onryou to slam the veteran shinobi's face down into the Hokage's desk, breaking her nose and possibly losing a couple of teeth. Onryou then quickly pulled the kunai from Biwako's grasp and with his free hand, slammed it into the desk millimetres from where Biwako's head should have been. The more taijutsu and medical oriented shinobi in the room noticed that slightest addition in applied pressure to the arm would have either caused her wrist to snap or her shoulder to be torn from the socket.

The quickness and effectiveness of the attack caught everyone in awe for a second before they acted. The ANBU stationed within the room eventually drew their weapons and surrounded the unknown shinobi behind Jiraiya, Kakashi and Tsunade. While Hiruzen had his kunai pressed against Onryou's throat, ready to kill this man if needed.

All of this happened so fast that Kushina tried to sit herself upright in her seat, Minato had stopped her when he used the Hirashin to rush to her side as Biwako attacked. "Minato please" she pleaded while watching the scene play out. Seeing the concerned look on his wife's face, the Yondaime Hokage helped his wife to sit up properly yet he too, never took his eyes of the situation in front of him.

"Onryou. Release her." Kushina stated in a forceful yet kind tone, almost like a mother scolding her child. She knew that this was not the start that she wanted and to make matters worse, this had the potential to become very bloody very quickly if Kushina didn't put a stop to it.

"Hai, Uzumaki-sama." he said, slowly releasing the aged woman, making sure that she or anybody else (Hiruzen) did not attack him as he backed away. Everyone in the room were surprised again when the shinobi did as he was told by Kushina without any hesitation.

Hiruzen instead quickly moved to grab his injured wife and pulled her out of harm's way. The tears that Biwako tried desperately not to shed were not from the injuries or even the fact that she had no doubt at all, the Uzumaki bodyguard could have killed her without a second thought. No, what had made her react like that was because of something far more unforgivable.

For Biwako, it will be a day forever burned into her memory. It was believed to also be the catalyst to the beginning of the third shinobi war. She was sent as part of a team on a search and rescue mission to retrieve a compromised spy hidden within one of the smaller Iwa fortified encampments, her oldest son Hiroki Sarutobi.

Unfortunately for them, Onryou found the encampment and Hiroki first.

Biwako and her team would never forget the bloody carnage that they witnessed that day as Onryou violently slaughtered all who inhabited the camp. All except Hiroki and a young woman who looked to be in the second trimester of pregnancy.

The pair were found near the back end of the encampment with Hiroki protectively shielding her from the masked man's grasp, or so the undercover agent thought. That's when he heard a sharp gasp from behind him, Hiroki turned to see the pregnant woman bleeding profusely from the open gash that ran across her throat. Reacting quickly, Hiroki grabbed the woman and cradled her close in what he knew would be her final moments. Tears began to stream down Hiroki's face as he desperately continued trying to stop the bleeding even after he watched the life slowly drift from her eyes.

It was painfully obvious how deeply Hiroki cared for this woman.

Onryou however, watched the scene play out with total indifference as his own thoughts drifted back to the destruction of his adopted home, Uzushiogakure. The smell of death and rotting carcasses of all ages still fresh and raw within his mind, fuelling the building rage within him. Onryou silently raised his hands into a seal and uttered one word that would destroy Biwako's world as she knew it.

"Katsu." (BOOM)

Hiroki was too consumed by his initial grief to even notice the various surrounding corpses begin to glow from the hidden seals placed on their bodies. By the time he did... it was too late, flames had engulfed both him and the entire encampment.

Biwako froze completely in shock at the sound of her son's horrifying screams, drowning out the symphony of destruction caused by the raging flames. The mother and medic, stood powerless to do anything except watch her oldest child slowly and agonisingly be reduced to ash. This lack of action will always be Biwako's greatest shame and would continue to torment her dreams for the rest of her life.

When the flames finally subsided, the grief stricken mother gingerly collected what was left of her son's charred remains. Swearing to herself at that very moment, she would kill that hooded shinobi if she ever saw him again.

With those images running through her mind, Biwako's face scrunched up in rage and decided to try and attack again. Only to be stopped this time by her husband, the Sandaime Hokage.

"Stop this dear, now is not the time." Hiruzen softly spoke as he gripped his wife's hands.

His wife began to struggle and protest. "But..." The rest of Biwako's sentence was cut short by the retired kage when his grip tightened to the point he would snap her bones if he squeezed any harder. He spoke with enough authority and coldness in his voice to make most of the shinobi in the room visibly wince.

"Jonin Sarutobi, you are embarrassing not only yourself, but also our clan by continuing to act in such a manner in front of our Leader and some of the most prominent shinobi in this village. Now stand down."

Biwako instantly stopped resisting. A few more tears managed to escape her eyes as she looked directly into her husband eyes. Hiruzen could see the hurt and pain within those eyes, but it was the look of betrayal that she held is what really hurt and confused him. The aged shinobi knew there was something that his wife was not telling him but he would have to bring it up at a later date.

(Flashback End)

"I have come to claim my duties as guardian of the last Uzumaki." Onryou coldly stated, shaking Sarutobi from his thoughts.

All the shinobi within the room bristled in shock, including Sarutobi. _'That can't be true. Minato chose Jiraiya and... Kushina!'._ Sarutobi soon realized.

This revelation caused something to snap inside the Hokage, although it was common knowledge within the village how much Hiruzen truly cared for Naruto, both from a sentimental standpoint and from a military one as well. Hiruzen now knew just how naive it was in hoping the villagers would move past their misplaced hatred and treat Naruto just like any other child.

With his new found resolve, Hiruzen refocused on the matter at hand and if his assumption was right, the Sandaime knew he would be grasping at straws to keep Onryou from taking him if he so desired.

 _'It will be a cold day in hell before I allow Naruto to be taken from this village'_ he thought

"What proof of authority do you have to fulfil such a task? More importantly, you still haven't told me what has happened to Naruto."

Onryou slowly and silently reached around and grabbed a small scroll from his back pocket. Then raised the scroll high in his left hand, making sure Sarutobi could easily see the wax seal of the Uzumaki crest that bound the said scroll together, thus instantly confirming his suspicions and ultimately breaking the old man's heart.

"This is the will of the last true ruler of Uzu no Kuni, Kushina Uzumaki. It provides all the written authority needed... Uzumaki-sama is currently safe within Konoha's walls. In time, he alone will ultimately decide if it is in the clan's best interest to stay apart of this village."

The Hokage looked at the man with a mixture of confusion, anger, embarrassment and even relief as he took the scroll from Onryou. Reading the scroll carefully, Sarutobi's eyes slightly narrowed before reading it another 3 times. Taking care to make sure he did not miss anything. Then when he was finally finished, Sarutobi genitally rolled the scroll back up and laid it down as if any mistreatment would cause the said document to disintegrate.

Sinking back into his chair while pinching the bridge of his nose, Sarutobi began to think. As much as he wanted to deny it, he could definitely tell that that was Kushina's handwriting and it also means that this man before him, undoubtedly was Kushina's choice as carer of her son, Naruto Uzumaki and with Jiraiya (Being Minato's choice) out of the village maintaining the villages spy network, means there was nothing he or anybody else can do about it.

After a few moments, Sarutobi had an idea, the aged leader sent a glance towards his personal ANBU guard in the dog mask who wordlessly appeared next to Onryou. "For the duration of your stay, Inu-san here, will be your chaperone. No exceptions." The Hokage stated.

Onryou seemingly ignored the statement and slowly handed several large document folders to the closest ANBU while never taking his eyes off the Sandaime Hokage, before he and the dog masked ANBU disappeared in a burst of flames. Also leaving behind the severed head of Satoshi Matsu.

After reading the contents of all the folders given to him, Sarutobi came to know all about what had exactly been done to Naruto and another boy by the name of Takeo, who was also held captive. Also due to Satoshi Matsu's habit of meticulously documenting everything, Sarutobi now knew the names of every single perpetrator who was involved and in his rage, the Hokage had left his office with the intention of executing all of the boy's newly revealed abusers that were currently been interrogated in the T&I department. However, he found that their cells were empty. The smouldering, mutilated remains of the supposed prisoners were soon found in front of an old burnt-out warehouse on the western outskirts of the village, hanging from the remaining warped steel framing by rusted chains. Yet for Sarutobi, although he was initially glad that these people were now dead, after his anger finally subsided, he realised that this result had offered little more than some hollow gratification.

' _Why is it, that every time you need me I repeatedly fail you, Naruto-kun?'_ The Sandaime thought solemnly as one of his most trusted guards, Karasu appeared from within the shadows of the room.

"Hokage-sama, Naruto Uzumaki has been located in the main foyer of the hospital."

(Present Day)

Now trying to shake the thoughts of the last couple of days from his mind, Sarutobi focused on all the precious people he had lost over the years before settling on all the other Hokage. Especially the Yondaime and what they would think if they could see Konoha as it is now.

' _Is this the Konoha that you all envisioned and died to protect? Where corruption and greed run rampant and a child is used as a scapegoat for everyone's misgivings?...Do the needs of the many, really outweigh the needs of a few?...I hope Naruto can forgive this old man for what I have failed to do for him in the years to come._ '

His thoughts were soon broken when the small blonde boy named Naruto awoke in a fit of coughing and spluttering. Soon the child's eye colour began to change from blue to blood red as he franticly clawed at all the various tubes and wires intruding his body, while in full blown panic mode in order to attempt an escape. The Hokage merely raised his hands and began talking to Naruto in a very calm and soothing tone, telling the boy to calm down, he was in the hospital and that he was safe and among friends, while the other two remained silent from the shadows.

It took longer than expected but Naruto soon calmed down as his eyes returned to their normal blue colour, even though the fear still remained. Gripping his bed sheets as tight as he possibly could, his eyes surveyed the room as if he expected someone to attack him at any moment. Silence filled the air until Naruto was convinced that he was safe before the blonde stated plainly and very simply to Konoha's aged leader.

"We are never safe Jiji, everyone hates us."

Sarutobi's heart visibly sank at the harsh truth of that comment. "Do you not consider me your friend, Naruto? Am I, like a few others not kind and caring towards you?"

Naruto glanced out towards the small window on his left hand side, catching a view of the setting sun before looking back at the man he viewed as his grandfather figure. Naruto's face held the most serious look of concentration that Sarutobi ever seen on the boy and somehow knew whatever came out of the young boy's mouth, he was not going to like it one bit.

"Jiji, You and the ramen makers don't count. Everyone else in this village hates us. I...remember them lining up, waiting to take turns at hitting us. Calling us demons and other bad words, doing really bad things to us like the stuff that mummies and daddy's do when they are alone."

Naruto's voice then drifted softly away at the end when he looked at the bed containing the boy he viewed as his brother. Tears beginning to freely flow from the young boy's eyes as he spoke with a large tremor in his voice. "Why do they hate us so much Jiji?"

"Fear"

"Fear and anger is what drives people to hate, Uzumaki-sama." Spoke the voice of Onryou from the furthest corner of the room. Naruto looked utterly terrified and scared as he stared at the new identity, taking in his seemingly traditional appearance.

Gone were Onryou's mask and normal shinobi attire. Replaced by a simple black kimono with a yellow trim around the collar and sleeves, yellow cloth was also wrapped around the man's waist. Onryou looked to be aged in his late thirties/ early forties. His long black hair was tied into a traditional top knot, while a neatly trimmed beard covered the lower half of his face.

As Onryou slowly made his way towards Naruto, Sarutobi instinctively rested his hand on Naruto's shoulder to reassure the boy that he was safe. It was then, Sarutobi had noticed that Onryou's blank eyes showed something other than the rage or the emotionless stare that they had shown the previous night, it was a look that Sarutobi knew all too well.

Guilt.

Now as Onryou gazed upon the injured Uzumaki, his eyes showed tiredness and sadness like someone who relentlessly carried a burden the size of the whole world on his shoulders. The aged leader watched as Onryou knelt before the blonde and bowed with his head firmly pressed against the cold tiled floor. Without even lifting his head, Onryou decided to begin introductions.

"First, I must ask for your forgiveness Uzumaki-sama. Until last night, I had failed my primary duty which has allowed for what has happened to you. My name is Onryou and I served both your mother and your ancestral homeland, Uzushiogakure. It was her wish that I protect you and train you in the way of the swirling tides."

Tears built up in the corner of Naruto's eyes as they grew to the size of saucers with that last bit of information and if it wasn't for his injuries, the blonde would be bouncing around the room like a pinball. "YOU KNEW MY MOTHER? TELL ME ABOUT HER PLEASE? PLEASE?" The boy babbled as his initial fears slowly dissipated. Then after a few seconds another sentence was strung together, this one barely audible.

"Why didn't she want me?"

Onryou didn't have a chance to respond as Sarutobi had cut in with a sad smile on his face. "There is no doubt that your mother and your father both loved you immensely and would give anything to be here to raise you into the fine upstanding man that I know you will become."

Naruto smiled cheerfully when he saw Onryou agree with Sarutobi's assessment causing an idea to pop into the young boy's head. "Hey Onryou-sensei, get up off the floor. You don't have to say sorry but you can start making it up to me by telling me who my parents are."

"You will know Uzumaki-sama when I have prepared you enough to know." Onryou stated evenly without missing a beat. At the same time, Sarutobi released a breath he didn't even know he was holding. Naruto looked dejected until he pieced together what Onryou had said about protecting him last night. _'Does that mean he knows what happened to Otouto?'_

"Do...Do you know what happened to the boy that was caged up with me? Do you know what happened to my little brother? _"_ Naruto asked with hope filled eyes.

Onryou slowly stood to his feet before shaking his head negatively. "I will not lie to you Uzumaki-sama, your brother has either been traded off as a slave or most likely, dead." There was a silent pause before Onryou continued on, "You already understand how cruel this world can be, Uzumaki-sama. Especially to those placed in environments like the one I found you in."

Onryou watched with interest as the hope in Naruto's eyes only diminished for a second, before it was replaced with determination.

' _I know you're out there somewhere, my brother. I swear on my dream, dead or alive, I will find you before I become Hokage….'_

Sarutobi on the other hand, watched the scene with a sad smile on his face again. He knew where Naruto's little brother, Takeo, was but he couldn't tell his surrogate grandson just what type of life he had subjected the boy to under his former team-mates guidance.

' _Danzo'_

(Elsewhere)

Takeo finally awoke to find himself laying face-down in a dimly lit underground bunker. Pain, soon flooded the young boy's senses and because of how heavily bruised, swollen and bloody he was, he would have been unrecognisable to anyone that knew him. His long black hair, lay heavily mangled and matted into bloody clumps and from what could be seen in amongst the swelling in his face, Takeo's amber coloured eyes no longer gleamed with life as they once did. They now looked as broken and empty as he felt deep within his own soul. His weakened limbs, began to quiver as he made a desperate attempt to try and roll himself over on to his back, only to collapse moments later after his arms gave out under his weight with an audible thud, coughing up a mouthful of blood and also allowing a fresh batch of pain to rush throughout his body as a result.

Closing his eyes in an attempt to ignore the pain, the 6-year-old began to try and control his increasingly laboured breathing. Images of what had happened to both him and his brother over the last few weeks soon played through Takeo's mind as tears began to freely fall from his badly swollen eyes.

(Flashback)

Physically trembling in terror, Takeo instinctively cowered into the furthest corner of his cage when he saw the cause of his fear enter the room with an unconscious Naruto draped over his shoulder. Seeing the look of absolute terror on Takeo's face, the man chuckled darkly to himself after carelessly dumping Naruto into a separate cage. The man knew with that extra bit of unwanted attention focussed on Takeo, had caused the boy to also lose control of his bladder.

"Always making me work for my fun aren't you, boy? Well here's a tip: Put up more of a fight than this one did. It's always more fun when they play hard to get." the man said mockingly before roaring with laughter, unable to control himself any longer.

Takeo did not dare look towards the voice, instead he focused on the blonde's visible injuries and his very shallow breathing with one lone thought racing through his mind. ' _Breathe Naruto nii-san'_.

The sudden stinging bite of icy water, harshly awoke Takeo from his thoughts moments before his cage door flew open and the boy was firmly grabbed by the wrist. Even at Takeo's young age, he knew that no one was coming to their rescue, not for Konoha's demons. Soon all thoughts were forgotten when Takeo noticed the man lick his lips, before being forcefully pulled out of the cage and dragged into an adjacent cellar where this time, a small group of men, who wore oni masks, were waiting for the poor child.

Within the cellar, the hidden leers from the group caused the boy to begin to cower once more. Only then to be blindsided with a vicious backhand from one of the anonymise men. "Get Up!" the man ordered.

Takeo did as he was told but never took his eyes off the floor as he prepared himself for another beating that never came. The group just looked at each other as if undecided on what they should actually do to the boy this time until the man that held the two boy's captive walked up behind Takeo, placing a firm grip on his shirt and began marching him over to one of the chairs behind the group.

"He should know the pleasures of the human flesh before he dies...just like the Fox." the man stated sadistically as he bent the boy over the chair, firmly holding Takeo in place with one hand while the other began to roughly remove the young boy's pants.

Takeo hopelessly struggled against the man's grip, looking around franticly with pleading eyes but he knew it was a lost cause. Moments later a rush of excruciating pain soon forced Takeo to scream and cry in agony as the man began to have his way with the young boy while the others began to enclose around them.

Unfortunately for Takeo, even Kami herself seemed to be against him as that was only the first of many unspeakable evils administered that day.

(Flashback end)

Takeo was forcibly awoken when he felt himself been rolled over on to his back by a set of hands. On instinct, Takeo tried to sit himself up when the seemingly same hand gently gripped and pressed against his shoulder. This caused the boy to instinctively flinch at the contact but it also allowed him to see that it was a woman who had stopped him. Possibly, so it would stop Takeo causing any further damage to himself.

"Shhh, everything is going to be all right Takeo-kun. You are safe now. Please, just relax while I check your wounds are going to be able to heal properly." the woman stated softly as she sat herself in a position to be completely visible to Takeo. Then her hands began to glow a light green colour as she slowly ran her hands above the boy's body.

If she were to be standing, she would have stood just a little over 5-foot-tall and have a very slim build. The woman's face held a kind smile that didn't quite reach her eyes as her dark blue orbs showed nothing but concern and worry. Her long black hair that was tied into a simple plat that ran down the front of her body and was tucked neatly inside her simple black and white kimono top, which was also covered by a large white jacket loosely draped over her back. The woman also wore a pair of black pants and a pair of traditional Japanese straw sandals.

Takeo noticed the look the woman was giving him and stared questioningly in return but before he could speak, the woman seemed to already know what he was going to ask. "You have no idea who I am do you Takeo-kun? I a…. I am Yachiru, One of the captains within the medical division here in Konoha. I will be looking after you from now on." she said tenderly but she could tell that Takeo was still very nervous and understandably so.

"You are safe Takeo, no one will ever be able to hurt you again. I promise." Yachiru said while gripping the boy's hand in reassurance.

"Coddling the boy will only serve to make him weak…. Yachiru." A cold, almost detached voice called out.

Yachiru didn't move an inch, yet the atmosphere in the bunker had become unnaturally stifling. "After what he has been through? No, I will treat him how I see fit just like I would any other patient in my care."

' _He is not one of your lap dogs yet Danzo.'_

Danzo did not even seemed phased as he walked briskly over to where Takeo lay, his lone dark eye stared straight into Takeo's own seemingly lifeless amber ones. Takeo held his gaze with the old war hawk but did not say anything, it was as if the two were having their own telepathic conversation as they continued to stare each other down. This carried on for several minutes until Danzo suddenly broke eye contact and proceeded to limp towards the exit. A ghost of a smirk appearing on the old man's face as he made one last look at Takeo before leaving the room.

The last thing Takeo heard before slipping into unconsciousness, was a sword been unsheathed, then followed by the words "All things must end: Minazuki"

A/N: well first chap done, let me know what you all think, but I got to be honest chapter releases will be pretty slow because I only write when I have spare time (which is hardly ever). So I might do it so it is a full arc worth of chapters at a time but I will see


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